ONCE they were the backbone of the railway network. Today, many of them are long forgotten relics of a different era, overgrown with weeds.

Forty years ago last month Dr Richard Beeching published his infamous report on the country's rail infrastructure. At the press conference to present the document he said branch lines no longer had a future.

One third of the track carried only one per cent of the traffic, and one half did not carry enough trains to cover its maintenance costs.

Beeching's plan was to scrap loss-making lines and concentrate on the lucrative inter-city routes. Nothing carrying fewer than 10,000 passengers a week was considered safe. About 2,000 stations and 250 services were withdrawn.

Now there is a growing feeling among many rail experts that the network is once again under threat.

Today, the picture is very different. Poorly maintained roads have reached choking point in some parts. Motorists are tired of traffic jams and travellers are returning to trains in their thousands giving the lie to doubters who said the railways were finished.

Faced with this, some rail enthusiasts are asking if it isn't time to dust off some of those old lines and put them back into service.

A report published today says much of the damage wrought to Yorkshire's railways 40 years ago by Dr Beeching could be reversed.

A strong network with frequent inter-connecting services providing transport links for work and leisure could make a real difference to people's lives, says the Countryside Agency

It would help achieve Government objectives on public transport use and help take more cars off the often congested roads.

Experts have identified the disused railways where they believe efforts could and should be made for reopening in the short, medium or long-term.

The agency team examined lines in the region closed since 1948, assessing each by examining potential benefits in economic, social and environmental terms.

Tourism benefits, the ease of reopening and the contribution to an enhanced rail network were also taken into consideration.

Dr Paul Salvesen, of the Transport Research and Information Network, the report's main author, said: "Railway reopenings should be part of a long-term strategy for regional development.

"We put the main emphasis on routes which will form part of a network, rather than reopening a myriad of branch lines to small towns and villages, which are best served by buses connecting into rail hubs."

The agency believes potential reopenings in the medium term - five to ten years - could include the Malton-to-Pickering line, where some preparatory work is already under way, and Redmire to Garsdale, completing the Wensleydale Railway link.

In the longer term - ten years and beyond - they are looking at the Harrogate-to-Ripon line and then on to Northallerton or Thirsk.

On the North York Moors, completion of the through route from Malton to Whitby, using the existing heritage line, is also a longer term possibility.

The disused routes from York to Market Weighton and Beverley, and to Wakefield and Castleford are also identified as potential lines for reopening.

Countryside Agency spokes-man David Faranoff insisted they were looking to the long term.

"We want to make sure that disused railways are protected from development which would make it harder to bring them back into use. We also want to support more detailed feasibility studies on particular routes."

However, the agency is under no illusions as to the magnitude of the task ahead if its ideas are to reach fruition.

The report notes: "It will require political determination and a willingness to invest, when a strong business case can be demonstrated."